Bearing for pump operating levers



Dec. 12, 1933. J. P. RATIGAN 1,939,135

BEARING FOR PUMP OPERATING LEVERS Filed sept. 22, 195o 2 Sheets-Sheet lJ. P. RATIGAN BEARING FOR PUMP OPERATING LEVERS Filed sept. 22, 1930 2Sheets-Sheet 2 fig-9.4

Patented Dec. 12, 1933 PATENT OFFICE i n l 1,939,135` B EARING FOR PUMPOPERATING LEVERS James P. Ratgan, Los Angeles, Calif.

, ApplicationrSeptember 22, 1930 Serial No. 483,402 i 5 Claims.

This invention relates to bearings of thel type employed as thefulcrum'cf a pump operating lever, for example, a walking beam.

This is an improvement on my reissue patent No.1'1,904, dated Dec. 16th,1930, which patent .described the advantage of employing a rocker typeof bearing as the fulcrum for a pump operating lever.

An 'object of this invention vis to improve the construction andoperation of the bearing described in the above mentioned patent. Inthat patent, the construction admitted of lateral deflection-of thewalking beam in orderV that the said walking beam would beself-adjusting to properly aline itself with the polish rod and thecrank pin, but the construction did not-permit of sufllcientlateralswinging of the walking beam so that the end, to which the polishrodis connected, could be swung a sufficient distance to one'side of thewell to admit of performing other operations-than pumping as, forexample, pulling the pump and pump tubing.

Ordinarily, at the present time, the pitman end of a walking beam istied. down Yso as to elevate the polish rod end of the walking `beam ashigh as possible above the'well, when it is desired to pull theL pumpand pump tubingor perform other necessary operations in maintaining thewell in production. When so tied down, the walking beam is more or lessin the .way and some attempt has been made in the past to provide aswivel bearing that will enable the wa1k. -ing beam to be swunglaterally, asis provided for by this invention. A very important objectof this invention is to simplify the construction that aords lateralswinging of the beam.

Another important object is to provide a simple construction that willpermit automatic shifting of the fulcrum planeof the walking beam, asthe beam operates, and, at the same time, permit of lateral swinging ofthe beam so that the beam -will be self-alining, in operation, and sothat, when'it is necessary to pull the pump or perform other operations,the polish rod end of` the beam may be swung considerably to one side ofthe well.

Another important object is to improve the construction wherebyarticulation of the upper and lower bearing members is eiected.

`Another very important object is universal adjustability of the meansfor connecting one of the bearing members with the Samson post, in orderthat said bearing member may be firmly secured to Samson posts ofdifferent widths and, also, so that when it is desired to place saidbearherein.

ing member on a Samson post previously provided with Vbolt holes foranother type of bearing, adjustment of the securing means is pcssible,so that the same bolt holes in the Samson post may be employed.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the subjoined detaileddescription.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention:

. Figure 1 is a side elevation of pump operating 65 mechanism thatincludes a bearing constructed in accordance with the provisions of thisinvention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of Fig. l, the pump operating lever being shown insolid lines in pumping position and being shown in broken lines-swung'laterally out of pumping position.

Fig. 3 is an-enlarged side elevation of the bearing'shown in Figs. 1 and2, the pump operating lever and the Samson post being indicated inbroken lines.

Fig. 4 is a plan View of Fig. 3, the walking beam being indicated in twodifferent positions in broken lines. i Y

Fig. 5 is an elevation of Fig. 4 from the right 8| Fig. 6 is a verticalsection on, the line indicated by 6-6, Fig. fi. The pump operating leverand. the Samson post are omitted.

Referring to the drawings, `apump operating lever is indicated at A,and, in this instance, said lever is in the form ofa walking beam. Thebearing or fulcrum of the `walkingbeam A is indicated at B and saidbearing is mounted on a Samson postv C. Connectedto one end of the leverA is a pitman D which is driven by a crank E that Vis operated in theusual manner. The other end of the` lever A is connected by a suitablebeam'hanger F to a polish rod G which operates in Va well indicated atH.

Since the invention has todo only with the bearing B, it, alone, will bedescribed in detail The bearing B includes two opposed members, an upperbearing member 7 constituting'azrocker, and a lower member 8 which con-100 stitutas a support for the rocker 7 to rock upon.

The members '7, 8 are loosely articulated -by suitable means so as toprevent the member 'l shifting horizontally upon the member 8, and thesearticulating means are rconstructed so as to permit of rocking of themember 7 in a'vertical plane and, also, horizontal swinging of themember 7, and these means, in this instance, are constructed as follows:One of the members '7, 8, in this instance the member 8, is provided atits cenl ter with a socket 9 and the other member, in this instance themember 7, is provided with a downwardly projecting stud 10 that looselyts in the socket 9. The socket 9 has downwardly and inwardly taperedWalls and, preferably, the stud 10 is substantially hemispherical inform so as to virtually produce a ball and socket connection between themembers 7, 8. Of course, as the member '7 rocks, the stud 10 will becausedto rise and fall in the socket 9, but, owing to the hemisphericalform of the stud and to the tapered construction of the socket, anyslighthorizontalshifting of the member 7, that might occur when the stud10 is raised, is counteracted by reason of the slanting walls of thesocket causing the stud- 10 to be returned to axial position in thesocket,

upon'downward movement of the stud. K

In order to provide for rocking of the member 7, the underface 1l ofsaid member is convex or arcuate when viewed in profile or, in otherwords, the member 7 is provided with a semicylindrical rocker portion12. The ends of the portion 12 are connected by a bridging member 13,integral therewith, thus providing for a-larg'e opening 14 that extendsfrom side to side of the member 7.

Through the opening y14 extends a retaining pin 15 that projects throughsupportsk 16 in the form of upstanding ilanges .of the bearing member 8.The pin 15 may be retained against longitudinal displacement by cotterkeys 17. or their equivalents.

In plan, the side margins 18 of the portion 12` are arcuate so that themember 'I may be rotated horizontally about the axis of the stud y10without interference between the margins 18 and the flanges 16.Preferably the marginal portions 18 constitute anges of the portion 12,andthe pin 15 projects through the member -7 between the margins 18 andthe bridging member 13. .Thus, it will be seen that the pin 15 issupported by the member 8 and is loose within the member '7.1i

y Bolt holes 19 are provided in the bridging member 13 for bolting thebearing member 7 to the lever A, the bolts being indicated at 20.Suitable means arepro'vided for adjustably connecting the bearing member8 to the Samson post C and, in this instance, this means is constructedas follows: the member 8 is provided with transversely extending keyslots 21 to accommodate theheads 22 of bolts 23 which bolts are thusadjustable toward and fromA the sides ofthe Samson post C. The bolts 234are in pairs,

one pair at each side of the Samson post. The bolts ofeach pair `passthrough a connecting member 24 andthe nuts 25 of the bolts, beingadjustable-on said bolts, affordverticalad'justment of the connectingmembers 24. Thus, longitudinal slots 26 inthe members 24 may easily becaused to register with` anybolt holes with which the Samson post mayhave been provided for bolting on of a bearing. Bolts 2'7 are shownpassing through the slots 26, said bolts 27, in lthis. instance,extendingentirely through rthe Samson post, from side to side'thereof,`and through both members 24. It will thus-be seenthatthe bear-v ingmember 8 may be readily secured to Samson posts of different widths bymoving the bolts 23 in or out, that the slots k2e may be alined with anybolt holes, for bearing connections, that may have been previouslyprovided in the Samsonpost, and that slots 26 provide for variousspacing of the bolts 27 in order to accommodate them to various spacingofbolts holes that may have been provided in the Samson post. K

' The foregoing will make clear the construction 'mit of horizontalswiveling of and operation of the invention and, briefly stated, theoperation is asl follows: operation of the pitman D swings the lever Aup and down, thus causing the bearing member '7 to rock on the bearingmember 8. As the bearing member 7 rocks, the pivotal axis of the lever Ashifts horizontally. For example, when the polish rod is at thebeginningof its upstroke, the load arm of the lever A Will be shorterthan when the polish rod 'is near the upper end of the stroke, a decidedadvantage, since the load is being picked up when the load arm of thelever is at a minimum. When the load Varm is shortening, the power arm.of the lever is lengthening, and, accordingly, the power is applied tothe greatest advantage for operating the polish rod. The socket 9 andstud 10 prevent any material horizontal displacement of the member 'lwith respect to the member 8 and the pin 15 prevents the member 7, incase it jumps oir of the member 8, from being displaced horizontallysuiiiciently to result in falling of the lever A from its support. Itwill be seen in Fig. 3 that the length of the opening 14 is many timesthe diameter of the pin 15, thus not only permitting of free rocking ofthe member v'7 but also Ypermitting of the member '7 being turned in ahorizontal plane through an angle of 90, or 45 on each side of itsnormal operating position shown in Fig;v 4 in solid lines. In Fig. 4 themember 7 is shown in broken lines turned to some extent out of itsnormal operating position. Thus, when it is desired to pull the pump orperform other operations. attendant upon the maintaining o1' a ywell inproduction, the pitman D and the polish rod G will be disconnected fromthe lever A and then said lever will be swung so that its polish rod endis to one side or the other of the well, as indicated in broken lines inFig. 2. l

I claim:

1. A bearing for a pump operating lever comprisingv bearing members, theone provided with a rocker face resting on the other, a swivel jointmeans loosely articulating said members whereby the upper member mayrock in a vertical plane and swivel in a horizontal plane, the rockermember provided with a transverse opening and said other member carryinga pin projecting through said opening, the length of said opening beingconsiderably greater than the diameter of the pin to permit ofhorizontal swiveling o1' the rocker member.

2. A bearing for a pump operating lever comprising bearing members, theone provided with a rocker portion resting on the other and with anattaching portion spaced from the rocker portion to provide an opening,the side margins of the rocker portion being arcuate in plan, the otherbearing member provided with flanges adjacent to the arcuate margins,and a pin mounted -in the flanges and projecting through the open'-ving, the length of said opening being considerably greater than thediameterfof the pin to perthe rst mentioned member.

3. A bearing for apump operating lever comprising bearing members, theone provided with a rocker portion resting on the other and with anattaching portion spaced from the rocker portion to provide an opening,the side margins of the rocker portion being arcuate in plan, the

other bearing member provided with anges adjacent to the arcuatemargins, cooperating stud and socket means loosely connecting thebearing members whereby the upper member may rock inv a vertical planeand swivel in a horizontal plane, and a pin mounted in the ilanges andprojecting through the opening, the length of said opening beingconsiderably greater than the diameter of the pin to permit of saidswiveling.

4. A bearing for a pump operating lever comprising bearing members, theone provided with a semi-cylindrical rocker portion resting on theother, the side margins of the rocker portions being arcuate in plan,the other bearing member provided with anges adjacent to the arcuatemargins, and a swivel joint means loosely articulating said memberswhereby the upper member may rock in a vertical plane kand swivel in ahorizontal plane.

JAMES P. RATIGAN.

